Sunday, May 15, 2011

Yesterday as i pulled the mail from the mailbox, i noticed an increase in the average number of envelopes. Two envelopes from the Member and Statistical Records Division of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presented themselves in the pile. { i could almost hear carnival music }

Even though i already knew what the letters would say, i hurried back to the house and opened mine at my desk. "This letter is to notify you that, in accordance with your request, your name has been removed from the membership records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Should you desire to become a member of the Church in the future, the local bishop or branch president in your area will be happy to help you."

Todd's said exactly the same (as do they all).

The ordeal is over. We are officially looking in from the outside. But i'm glad for the experience on the inside. I've always been fascinated with cults and the cult mind. Although mostly a benign cult, it is a cult all the same. People are not allowed to think or question the word of the leaders. They are ostracized, shunned, "disciplined" or cast out when they do.

Which leads to the SHIT STORM that may be about to happen in the Morg.

Well, it's happening all over again, but in masses. There are many "underground" groups of mormons who have, or have started to figure out that the church was founded on lies and continues in that tradition. Others in these groups just flat-out disagree with doctrine or teachings of the Morg (the gay issues is a huge one). Some of the groups include: Mormon Think, DAMU (DisAffected Mormon Underground), Sunstone, New Order Mormon...and many, many others. People are waking up!

The group under extreme scrutiny by the Morg right now is Mormon Stories (started by someone i'm happy to call a friend, John Dehlin). John got called in for a "meeting" with local leaders. Here is a man who, in the most loving and kind way (he really is more like Jesus than anyone i know), began to reveal the inaccuracies and controversies within the Morg. (Morg = Mormon Organization, in case you were wondering). John has been instrumental in helping thousands of members (mormons) get their heads and hearts straight about the church. Some of these people concluded that, despite the fact that the Morg isn't what it claims to be, they still want to belong and can and will, and will do so KNOWING and accepting the controversial issues and all the other bad shit that went down/goes down. Others were relieved to find out the truth and decided to leave for their own integrity. (I'm with those; i can't support an organization with it's past or present).

Anyway...let's just say that John Dehlin and Mormon Stories is HUGE in the Mo world. Needless to say, the Morg is not super happy that it's dirty laundry is being aired, despite the loving way it's been done, or the intention of this particular airer. So now John has been called in for a "meeting." There's talk about excommunication, and if that happens to John, will it happen to his "followers" as well? What about the other New Order Mormons or "Uncorrelated" Mormons out there? Will they all be ex'ed? That would mean a HUGE loss of numbers (and hence, money) for the Morg. For that reason (they do so love their numbers and their money), I don't think they'll do a mass ex'ing. And i don't think they'll ex John either, because a lot of people would leave the Morg if they slayed their hero.

Plus, it would be bad press. Although, the Morg has a culty way of ignoring bad press so the members blindly and robotically ignore it, too. Baaaaaaaa! I know...i was once one of them and baaaaaa'd right along with the rest.

It'll be interesting to see what unfolds, that's for sure.

P.S. Gay people don't choose to be gay; they're born that way, just like straight people are born straight.

P.P.S. Gay people deserve love and respect. They deserve the right to marry and have committed relationships.

8
holla'd back:

Congratulations Sandi! Poor John. If they do ex him it will be bad press, but then, I think they know that bad press helps them gather the faithful around them. You know, like circling the wagons to fend off the "persecutors."

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Quotableness

"This above all: to thine own self be true." -Wm. Shakespeare

"Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away." --unknown

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WHOO HOO what a ride!'" - unknown

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The Enneagram

Type Seven in Brief

Sevens are extroverted, optimistic, versatile, and spontaneous. Playful, high-spirited, and practical, they can also misapply their many talents, becoming over- extended, scattered, and undisciplined. They constantly seek new and exciting experiences, but can become distracted and exhausted by staying on the go. They typically have problems with impatience and impulsiveness. At their Best: they focus their talents on worthwhile goals, becoming appreciative, joyous, and satisfied.

We have named this personality type The Enthusiast because Sevens are enthusiastic about almost everything that catches their attention. They approach life with curiosity, optimism, and a sense of adventure, like “kids in a candy store” who look at the world in wide-eyed, rapt anticipation of all the good things they are about to experience. They are bold and vivacious, pursuing what they want in life with a cheerful determination. They have a quality best described by the Yiddish word “chutzpah”—a kind of brash “nerviness.”

Although Sevens are in the Thinking Center, this is not immediately apparent because they tend to be extremely practical and engaged in a multitude of projects at any given time. Their thinking is anticipatory: they foresee events and generate ideas “on the fly,” favoring activities that stimulate their minds—which in turn generate more things to do and think about. Sevens are not necessarily intellectual or studious by any standard definition, although they are often intelligent and can be widely read and highly verbal. Their minds move rapidly from one idea to the next, making Sevens gifted at brainstorming and synthesizing information. Sevens are exhilarated by the rush of ideas and by the pleasure of being spontaneous, preferring broad overviews and the excitement of the initial stages of the creative process to probing a single topic in depth.

Sevens are frequently endowed with quick, agile minds, and can be exceptionally fast learners. This is true both of their ability to absorb information (language, facts, and procedures) and their ability to learn new manual skills—they tend to have excellent mind-body coordination, and manual dexterity (typewriting, piano playing, tennis). All of this can combine to make a Seven into the quintessential "Renaissance person."

Ironically, Sevens' wide-ranging curiosity and ability to learn quickly can also create problems for them. Because they are able to pick up many different skills with relative ease, it becomes more difficult for them to decide what to do with themselves. As a result, they also do not always value their abilities as they would if they had to struggle to gain them. When Sevens are more balanced however, their versatility, curiosity, and ability to learn can lead them to extraordinary achievement.